Hike the inca trail to machu picchu

My best friend and I are planning this trip in late May or early June (2009) depending on whether we decide to run the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. The flights are much cheaper than I initially thought.

So far it looks like we will fly into Lima, stay for one night before heading to Cusco for 2-3 nights to acclimate. Then we will do the hike (probably with perutreks.com unless someone has other recommendations) for 4-days. Then…..

We aren’t sure what we’ll do after the hike but we’ll probably head back to Cusco and hopefully visit some smaller towns/villages in that area. If anyone has any recommendations for other things/places to see or do, please drop me a line!

I survived the Inca Trail. I was ready to give up on the first day and didn’t know it would be so hard.
I’m proud of myself and it really is one of the most satisfying things I’ve done in my life.
It rained almost all the time and we were all soaked. Luckily, on the last day the rain stopped and the sun was shining and we were able to enjoy the great Machu Picchu.
Cusco and the surroundings are beautiful and this was the trip I enjoyed the most in my life.

I’m doing the Inca Trail the third week of January. I’m very excited and unprepared at the same time.

I didn’t even know much about the Inca Trail until I went to the travel agency to book a package to another place and saw a poster of Machu Picchu and decided to ask about it.
I’m having the first day off to acclimatize to the altitude, then the trail and then the Cuzco city tour.

I hope to have a great time because it hurts my pocket! I also hope to meet interesting people from other places, too.

I didn’t hike the Inca trail. After the stories I’m not sure I’ll ever be up to the challenge.

Highly recommended!

I’ve read the book The Celestine Prophecy and loved it, now I want to see this place!!

What an amazing experience. It was challenging… dare I say excrutiating at times… but so rewarding. There is so much to see along the trail, and getting to know the others in my group was a lot of fun. I ended up hiring a local porter to carry my pack on the 2nd and 3rd days, which are the toughest due to steep up and downhill climbs and descents, and that was the best decision I made the whole trip. After that, it was just a matter of hiking at my own pace and it was not bad at all.

Machu Picchu was every bit as stunning and overwhelming as I imagined. Of course, no picture does justice to the enormity of what the Incas accomplished there, but I will always have the mental images.

Our tour guide advised us that the site is sinking by about a centimeter per year, most likely due to the pressure of over 1,000 visitors a day walking on it, and if that cannot be corrected, the site will most likely close to foot traffic within the next few years. That is extremely disappointing… I’m glad I got to see it, though.

I booked my hike today, with Peru Treks & Adventure (perutreks.com). We begin the hike on 11/20, so we will hit Machu Picchu on Thanksgiving Day. I am sure we will have plenty to be thankful for on that day!

Alright, I got the flight situation worked out, and I’m booked! No turning back now! I’m so excited I can’t think straight. This trip really is a dream come true.

We’ll be flying into Cuzco, hanging there for a couple days then doing a four day hike to see Machu Picchu, then flying to Lake Titicaca for a couple days before flying back home. Wow. I can’t believe this is actually going to happen!

Out of nowhere one drunken night several months ago, one of my friends mentioned to me that she was thinking about going to Peru and hiking the Inca Trail. We talked about it for a while and I let her know that I was seriously interested and to let me know the details as she got further in the planning. At that point it was just a hair above a pipe dream… I wasn’t sure if I would have the money, enough time off, etc.

Fast forward to now… I’ve started a new job and have some time off to use this year, and got a sweet little sign-on bonus just as she was preparing to book the trip. I still had some details to work out on my end, and now some of the flights she is on are booked, but I’ve unearthed some other options that I think can work to get us there at around the same time.

I didn’t want to get too excited about this, as I just wasn’t sure if I could swing it, but now that it is in front of me and plans are being made, I can’t help but get excited about it. I really hope this trip can work out, but if not… next year. I am going. It is far less expensive than I thought… Under $3,000 after airfare, hike fees, hotels, and a side trip to a spa on an island in Lake Titicaca!

Please please please let this happen…